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28 March 2013 / Jo Renshaw
Issue: 7554 / Categories: Opinion , Legal services , Profession , Immigration & asylum , LexisPSL
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O brave new world

Jo Renshaw outlines the effect LASPO 2012 will have on those doing publicly funded work

On 1 April 2013 the changes, which all those undertaking publicly funded work hoped would never see the light of day, will be implemented. This was described at a recent Legal Services Commission training event as the “Go Live” date. Given that most of us will be savouring a much-needed Bank Holiday lie-in on that day, the “Go Live” date (also coinciding with April Fools’ Day) is not without a certain irony and the reality is that the radical reshaping of access to justice will hit most of us when we crawl into work the following morning.

It is likely there will be a continuing exodus of those currently undertaking publicly funded work. The way the recent tenders were structured has resulted in many firms being allocated even fewer cases (matter starts) than their worst-case scenario envisaged and this, combined with the very low rates of pay and the severe restrictions on scope, is in danger

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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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